Arlington Middle School, Jacksonville FL

Original Research by School Decision on Arlington Middle School

Arlington Middle School sits on Lone Star Road in Jacksonville's Arlington area, a residential section of the city's east side that is part of the broader Duval County Public Schools system. Jacksonville itself is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, publicly reported as a market where migration and affordability converge, with a downtown undergoing substantial residential and commercial transformation. The school's immediate neighborhood is suburban and car-dependent, characteristic of most of Jacksonville outside its walkable central districts.

The student body is a majority-minority population, with Black students making up roughly half of enrollment, Hispanic students another sizable share, and white students a smaller portion. Several other groups round out a genuinely diverse racial composition. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals that this is a school serving a predominantly lower-income community. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in the records reviewed.

On Florida's state assessments, proficiency rates across all three grades and all tested subjects are well below the state midpoint. In reading and language arts, fewer than one in four students in any grade tested at the proficient level, with sixth graders showing the lowest rate. Math results follow a similar pattern in sixth and seventh grade, with eighth graders doing somewhat better, though still at a level that falls short of what most families would hope to see. Eighth-grade science results are similarly low. Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these numbers are improving, holding steady, or declining. A parent whose child is currently at grade level or above may want to ask the school directly about how it supports academically ready students, what course progression looks like, and what resources exist for students who need to catch up. This is a school where academic outcomes warrant a direct conversation.

No program information was included in the data, so details about electives, extracurriculars, or specialized academic tracks are not available here. The district brief search returned little, so notable changes at the Duval County district level were not confirmed and were left out rather than guessed.

The housing market surrounding the school is priced meaningfully below both the Florida state median and the national median, making the Arlington area one of the more accessible parts of Jacksonville for families considering a purchase. Rents are also modest relative to typical national benchmarks, and the rent-to-income ratio sits at a relatively manageable level. Home values in the area have edged slightly downward over the past year. For a renting family, monthly rent here runs below what a comparable mortgage payment would cost, which is somewhat unusual and may reflect the neighborhood's relative affordability within a city that is otherwise drawing new residents and investment.

The school's position among Duval County's districts on comparison metrics was not applicable in the form available because the comparison set for this school was too small to produce a valid ranking on the proficiency index. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data were also not available at the school level in this dataset, though a middle school would not have a graduation rate of its own.

What this school is, plainly, is a neighborhood public middle school in an affordable, working-class corner of a rapidly growing city, serving a student body that is economically challenged and racially diverse. Academic outcomes on state tests are low across the board. Families relocating to the Arlington corridor should weigh those results carefully, ask the school about support structures and course offerings, and consider whether additional academic support at home or elsewhere would be part of the plan.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 47% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 722%

School 22% · District 43% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 47% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 49% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 48% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 47% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Science

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 37% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolDUVAL, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income17%Higher-income17%0 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income27%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income18%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income26%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income19%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income31%9 pp gap